So, I guess it makes some sort of sense for me to answer it here. Please note that these are my personal opinions, from my perspective, experiences and filtered through my lenses, cultural conditioning and biases. It may or may not resonate with you, but I kindly request you bear it in mind as you read on.If you're reading this you are either a local in Sri Lanka; a Sri Lankan living abroad; an expat like me residing in Sri Lanka; a tourist / traveler currently in Sri Lanka; or a foreigner living elsewhere in the world.

Either way, what's important is that you're interested in something I have to share about life in Sri Lanka. I honestly believe we all learn things each and every day for ourselves, and from each other. We may eventually determine something from our everyday existence, but when we are placed in an environment that challenges our conditioning or thinking (one that we might not usually be exposed to), there is huge opportunity to learn more rapidly. The challenge is to be open-minded and to recognize beauty or something worthwhile in these instances or situations.

So...

When you first move to a foreign country, as every expat will tell you, it's hard work. From settling in, to making new friends, to adapting to your new environment, and learning how to do things.

It's harder work if...

there is a civil war in the country and widespread military presence is foreign to you (i.e. when I initially moved here, the civil war had not yet ended);

you don't speak the local language;

you're used to living with four seasons and instead there's only one (or two, if you count the monsoon period in a tropical country!);

you experience culture shock (gah, the initial early days!)

** Please note, the full blog post has been removed as parts of the blog content will be edited for inclusion in an upcoming publication by the author. More information will be made available on the Adventures in a Tuk-Tuk Blog in due course **

8 comments:

Very interesting, I did not think it could reach 7 parts. This is very interesting and could become a reference text for Sri lanka. I do not quite understand it, but it seems, being an expat in Sri Lanka is quite interesting. nice post.

you are being bloody kind eva, but i did love those lines on the post office and the damn passport visa dump...they still operate in the bloody babylonian era, i myself moved out of the country to canada years ago....but every time i visit my birthplace....in a month...i can't wait to get out.

yes, the damn people are a mix of nice and kind to the brutal; and hateful,...well what do you expect out of the oppressed who in turn will easily become the oppressor. todays victim is another of yesterdays possible victimiser's - golden bamboo

Hi Craig, Apologies for the delayed response. I have to admit I'm not sure about the job situation for architects in Sri Lanka. It's not my area of expertise. However, I did come across an interesting write up on a Sri Lankan architect returning from London and his experiences that might have some useful info. http://workinsrilanka.lk/success-stories/kanishka-perera/Best wishes, Eva

Hi Eva,Great entertaining reading.I am visiting Sri Lanka in August & searching for a good dentist who does bridgework.If you know of any good dentists a contact would be greatly appreciated.Best WishesJohn

Hi John, Thanks for the comment on the blog. Happy to know you find it entertaining. Unfortunately, I have had some difficulty with dental work in Sri Lanka. I've tried the expensive ones, the not-so-expensive ones, young and old, but somehow I haven't found one that I can confidently recommend. If you're on FB, perhaps you can ask on one of the expat forums to see if there's someone willing to recommend a dentist. BestEva